BotB Ch12
Date written: 1/28/2011, 2/24, 3/3, 3/6, 3/10, 3/20/2011
Date typed: 4/13 & 14/2012
Date originally posted:
Date edited: N/A
Born of the Blood
Chapter 12: Girls Hint to Father - Parts 1 & 2 of 3
[Pink, 10th Moon, Cemrota of Stahl, Year of Slate East] (April 1990)
Part 1
Eries trundled around her room, hoping that Allen's meeting with the lawyer two days ago had gone well. Both she and Arrika had decided she shouldn't try to meet with him for a few days. If her father was behind Lucen following her around, Eries didn't want to give anyone any chance to suspect that something was going on between her and the young man. Though of course, nothing was going on between them.
Much as she wished for something more, she was an heir to the Asturian throne. Nothing could happen between them.
The middle Aston daughter shuffled to her bed and plopped down on it. She sat for a few moments, lost in thought. 'It's not like I'm sneaking around, trying to meet with Allen in secret.' Eries rolled onto her stomach.
'Or… am I?'
Eries grabbed the blanket her mother had made for her birth. She was far too old to sleep with it, but such a memento was dear to her and always in her private chambers. She clutched it to her chest and rolled onto her back.
'Am I?'
She stood and walked out to her private balcony. After pacing back and forth a few times, she sat on the bench. She crossed her arms, blanket tucked between them.
Reexamining the facts, Eries realized she was sneaking out to meet Allen. She was using a secret passage to meet with an (allegedly) dashing, young, somewhat mysterious man with a (not really) background.
"Of course Father has a right to be worried and have me followed… But I'm not doing anything wrong; just meeting with a friend."
"Well, only a little worried and he should have just come to me and asked what was going on," Eries countered herself.
"He raised me for Jichia's sake! Doesn't he trust me and himself for raising me?"
Eries let out a derisive laugh, startling the birds in the trees around her.
"I do believe that I have heard before that the first sign of insanity is talking to yourself."
"The second sign," Arrika called from Eries' outer chambers, "is speaking back."
The middle Aston daughter smiled and made her way to her outer chambers, opening the door between the two young women. "How did you know I was talking to myself? I always thought my walls were more sound-resistant than that…"
"Oh, they are." One corner of Arrika's mouth twitched. She nodded across the room, to the wall facing the outside. The other corner of her mouth joined its twin. "The window's open. I heard your entire conversation, Princess." Arrika chuckled. "I agree with you; your father should have spoken with you before he attached a guard to your shadow. But as you've already deduced, you are sneaking out."
"Well, I'm going to go have a talk with Father; if he's not terribly busy. No sense in putting it off."
"Good luck with that."
"Thanks, I'll need it." Eries exited her chambers and found Lucen in the hallway on the other side.
Eries had a plan that would allow her to avoid any future sneaking.
"Good afternoon, Princess."
"Same to you, Sir."
Lucen fell into step behind her, keeping his thoughts and any questions to himself. Eries took the back halls to her father's personal office. She nodded to the guard outside his door and then knocked. She heard her father's voice call out and entered, closing the door behind her.
Eries waited just inside the doorway; her father had company. He sat at the table; two men as well as Merchant Fassa were with him. After a few moments, her father turned to her. Smiling, he said, "Ah, Eries, hello. I'll be with you in a little while."
She nodded and sat in a nearby chair to wait. Eries listened to their conversation, but they were discussing trade routes and she quickly lost interest. Several more minutes later, the two men signed a document. She didn't like Merchant Fassa's face; he looked like the cat that ate a very fine, very rare bird. The two men left; her father exchanged a few quiet words with his friend, and then it was just the two Astons.
"And how are you on this fine day my daughter?"
"I am doing well, Father; and you?"
"Marvelous, just marvelous." Grava Aston smiled at something Eries couldn't even guess at. "What can I do for you, Eries?"
At that moment, Eries realized that she did not, in fact, have an actual plan. It occurred to her that she had to be far more subtle than blurting out, 'Why are you suddenly having me followed?' Not having an actual plan; a grave oversight on her part, her mental political instructor whispered in her ear; Eries folded her hands in front of her and said the first thing that popped into her mind. "Have you filled the new Caeli post yet?"
Her father's eyes narrowed a little. "I believe I have. He might be young, but Schezar is a good swordsman. Why?"
"I… Will he be taking up the previous Caeli's post?"
Grava's eyes narrowed further. "I'm not sure yet. I don't think so… Why the sudden interest Eries?"
"Father, I'd like Sir Schezar to replace Sir Lucen as my personal guard."
There, it was out.
"Allen Schezar? The one the handmaidens and laundry women are all twittering about? Eries, I thought you were above such things."
'As if I know what the handmaidens gossip about…' "We've become friends and I'd like to have his post be here in Palas instead - instead of out on the border."
The king was practically glaring at her now. "You've been seen with him, Eries." His firm voice indicated that the statement demanded she explain her actions.
'Don't play with your hands!' "He needed some legal advice to reclaim his family property. I happened to be nearby, in the courtyard, as he was stating this to a fellow contestant."
That was mostly true…
Aston studied his daughter, his eyes telling her that there was more for her to say.
"He's a very gentlemanly young man and I thought - he's my age, Father. It would be nice to have a friend. Guarding the princess would be an easy assignment for a beginner but still worthy of a Caeli."
Her statement sounded flat even to herself.
King Aston raised one eyebrow and merely said, "No."
Eries snapped her mouth shut.
"The maidens twitter about him and his looks, the daughter disappeared and the father left the family. The boy's good with a sword but that gives him no right to go gallivanting around with women. And Eries, if you know what is good for you and your country, you'll forget that Schezar exists." Her father gave her a hard look; it was an order, not a suggestion.
Eries understood that the conversation was over. She nodded. "Thank you for your time, Father. I bid you a good afternoon."
Aston tilted his head ever so slightly. He saw the defiance in her eyes. So much like himself. Eries would have to be watched.
The middle Aston daughter returned to her room, down but not defeated.
Part 2
Marlene played with her hands on her balcony, head bent to shield her eyes from the setting sun. Her notebook and quill lay forgotten on her bench next to her. Her lavender eyes shifted to the three handmaidens in the courtyard beneath her. They'd just finished accidentally informing her that Lord Mitan had finally decided to step down. That didn't intrigue Marlene one bit; but his probable replacement, Allen Schezar, did.
The eldest Aston daughter hugged herself, replaying a montage of images and sounds through her mind. Allen saying her name. Allen winning the tournament. Allen in the courtyard, asking her about color schemes. Allen in the gardens, assisting her with her books. Allen holding her in his arms…
Her eyes snapped open.
A plan raced itself around her head.
She nodded to the guard outside her father's chamber doors. He knocked for her and her father called for entrance. Marlene took a deep breath and entered the outer chambers to her father's private rooms. Her eyes trailed over the portraits of herself, her sisters, and her mother. The eldest - but not truly - Aston princess automatically shied away from the family portrait that had been painted just before Mother's passing.
Marlene had faked her smile in that one.
"Ah, Marlene! So you are back from the villa; I wasn't sure. How are you this evening?"
"I am doing well, Father. And might I inquire of you?"
"It brings me great joy that you are back in the palace, my ray of sunshine."
She smiled at the childhood nickname. The replacement daughter. The beginning of the curse upon her father, upon the Aston line and the kingdom.
"And what is it I can do for you, my daughter?"
Marlene slowly clasped her hands in front of her; a sign they both knew meant she wasn't sure what she wanted. Only Marlene was playing upon that knowledge. "I noticed that Eries has been placed with a personal guard. That situation seems to suit her. Father, I enjoy spending time at Mother's villa; I feel close to her there. I was thinking this morning that a personal guard might suit me as well. He could be nearby at the villa and you wouldn't have to worry about me overly much."
The eldest Aston daughter controlled the motions of her hands and face. No twitch or twiddle of her face or hands to give away her true intentions or worry.
Her father tapped his fingers together. He was seated at his desk, a large portrait of Therese on the wall next to him. He glanced at it, wishing for the millionth time his lovely bride was here to help him raise three spirited daughters. "I see the benefit of having a personal guard for you, my dear. However, at this time all of the Caeli - the best in Asturia, as you know - have their assignments. I cannot rightfully pull them; Lord Kaybor would have my head."
She smiled lightly at her father's joke. He was the king, yet he knew how to allow others to keep order. This was the flaw in her plan; that Father would overlook Allen and assign her a simple palace guard. Marlene half-formed a thought to speak but stopped when her father spoke.
King Aston eyed his eldest (but not) daughter. Eries had outright asked that Schezar be her guard. A handful of palace workers had already confirmed that his middle (youngest middle) had met with the boy; Aston had halted any rumors before they could rot into something filthy. Marlene, on the other hand, hadn't said a peep about the boy. In fact, if her handmaidens were telling the truth - and why would they lie? - Marlene didn't want to even hear a word about Schezar.
"Marlene, my eldest daughter will have the best guard I can give her. As I'm sure even you have heard," they both smiled; she had never followed politics or those that followed the sword, "Lord Mitan is retiring from his post. And since he won the tournament and the rest of the Caeli are in agreement, the young Sir Allen Schezar will take Lord Mitan's place. And since I have no grand plans that require a young, underdeveloped… whippersnapper, I think he should be able to handle protecting my eldest daughter."
The eldest Aston daughter in question schooled her face into slight annoyance. "The young Schezar?" Marlene followed the question with a calculated pause. 'Process, accept, react.' "If that is what you think is best; I accept your decision, Father. You have my utmost appreciation."
To show that she hadn't come there just to manipulate the assignment of a specific personal guard, Marlene asked her father how he was doing and the state of the Council. They spoke for nearly another hour before she excused herself to prepare for bed. Aston watched his daughter leave, grateful he could still hold a conversation with his eldest daughter. They were entering adulthood all too quickly…